Red Dead Redemption 2 Won't Get Delayed Again

By Kylie Pasetchnik 17 May 2018

This past week Rockstar games gave players just what they were asking for: a firm release date for Red Dead Redemption 2. Yes, it may have been later than the initial spring window that Rockstar announced months ago, but according to publisher Take-Two Interactive this is the date, full stop.

Take-Two had its first earnings call since the announcement of Red Dead Redemption 2’s official release date and CEO Strauss Zelnick spoke about the delay, further commenting on how the game needs more time to be polished. Zelnick even stated that he is “confident” that there will be no more delays in the release of this game.

“The entire focus of this organization is on delivering the highest quality entertainment experiences of any kind. More often than not, we feel proud that we’re able to do that. All of our labels are focused on releasing a title when they reach that apex of effort and perfection. And in this instance, Rockstar Games felt more polish was required, and naturally we are in favour of that decision [to delay Red Dead Redemption 2]. The date of October 26 is set, and I am confident that will be the release date. We are incredibly excited about it.”

Rockstar had initially intended for the game to be released in Spring of 2018, but the game was apparently not ready for such an early debut. At the same time, moving the date to Fall of 2018 seems to be a financially advantageous move.

“[Rockstar] release[s] titles all over the calendar. Heading into the holiday season can be a particularly powerful time and I’d observe that while there are some competitive releases, it’s a lot more of an open field today then it was 10 years ago. There’s plenty of opportunity to go around So we’re really excited about [Red Dead Redemption 2] and the timing related to the launch.”

Zelnick also wanted to point out that this move was not fully driven by the bottom line. Zelnick said, “A genuine, not financially driven commitment to quality comes first. Thankfully, we run what we believe is a highly rational, exceedingly disciplined business environment, which gives people who are creative a very safe place to do their very best work.”

Rockstar seems to have its fans’ best interests at heart when producing a long-awaited game, even if moving the game to October will also benefit its sales numbers. Hopefully, Strauss Zelnick is correct and there will be no more delays in Red Dead Redemption 2‘s future.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is set to release October 26, 2018 for Xbox One and PS4.